The Coffee Break Screenwriter

Pilar Alessandra is the director of the writing program On the Page®, host of the popular On the Page Podcast, and author of "The Coffee Break Screenwriter." Pilar started her career as Senior Story Ana-lyst at DreamWorks SKG and, in 2001, opened the On the Page Writers' Studio in Los Angeles. Her students and clients have written for The Walking Dead, Lost, House of Lies, Nip/Tuck, and Family Guy. They've sold features and pitches to Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Disney, and Sony, and have won the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Screenwriting Competition, and Warner Bros. TV Writ-ing Workshop. Pilar has trained writers at ABC/Disney and CBS and traveled the world, teaching in London, Beijing, Warsaw, Lisbon, and South Africa. www.OnThePage.tv

Chapter 1: The Story
Emotion tells the story / Character flaw tells the story / The world tells the story / Premise tells the story / Secondary ­characters tell the story / Complication tells the story / Synopsizing tells the story / Resolution tells the story / Plot and character elements tell the story / You tell the story
Chapter 2: The Structure
Feature structure made simple / TV pilot structure made simple / Organizing your story / The structure sheet
Chapter 3: The Outline
The eight-sequence beat sheet / The beat-sheet rewrite / The scene list / Scene brainstorming / Finding scenes through setup and payoff
Chapter 4: The Characters
Character biography / Character makes an entrance / Character rules / Creating great antagonists
Chapter 5: The First Draft
Scene intention / Quicky format / The speed draft / Script development: add new scenes / Script development: build on existing scenes / Script development: add your voice
Chapter 6: The Dialogue
Verbal agenda / Verbal strategy / Dialogue as a game / Finding character voice
Chapter 7: The Rewrite
The concept pass / The structure pass / The story pass / The scene pass / The character pass / The dialogue pass / The format pass / The element pass / The holistic pass
Chapter 8: The Craft
The placement of action lines / Choreography in action lines / Fight scenes / Emotional action lines / The "tell" of the scene / The button / Scene transitions / Narrative devices / Character and setting descriptions / Essence plus action / Tonal writing
Chapter 9: The Final Edit
Story intention edit / Genre intention edit / Line cut edit / Scene trimming edit / The general edit
Chapter 10: The Presentation
Print and bind / Protect your material / Pitch your script / The personal pitch / Marketing materials
Chapter 11: The Opportunity
Networking / New media / Video games, game shows, promos, and reality TV / What if they like me? / The long pitch